Look at Me
by Jelp
Summary: Naruto has his sights set on ANBU Captain Sasuke. Sadly, the distinguished Uchiha isn't impressed with someone who acts so young and immature. But Naruto always has a few tricks up his sleeve. Sasuke/Naruto


Happy ten years for me at FanFiction dot Net! Happy one million words! For those who haven't noticed, I haven't been updating in a while. That was partially due to writer's block, and partially due to the fact that I noticed that I would be hitting uploading one million words here at FanFiction dot Net. So, I decided to upload something that would push me over a million words on my ten year anniversary of uploading fics at ff dot net. (I originally started at A Sailor Moon Romance.) Anyway, here is a type of story I have always found interesting; when I was younger because I thought it would be awesome, and now as an adult knowing that it would just _not_ be a good thing.

**Please note** that this contains a male teenager going after an older male. I do not condone this usual behavior, though I'm sure many of us back in the day thought we could win the hearts of those much older than us. (::cough, cough:: Like me when I was 12 and an actor-who-will-remain-unnamed-for-Jelp-not-to-be-laughed-at crushing on an actor when he was 24. I _will_ say that I was not the only 12 year old hardcore crushing on him at the time. Yeah, I was delusional. XD)

I don't own Naruto.

**Look at Me**

Not for the first time, Naruto found himself in the Hokage's office. He sat studying a jutsu from a scroll, sighing in time with the other person in the room. Naruto looked up and grinned, seeing his father, the Fourth Hokage, rummaging through all the paper work he had to do. Yondaime smiled up at Naruto before looking back down deploringly as he continued to read the documents, occasionally signing something. Yondaime sighed and then gave a disgruntled look toward Naruto as though it was Naruto's fault he had to do all this paperwork while Naruto got to do something fun. Naruto merely grinned back at him while happily working on his ninjutsu.

The door to the Hokage's office opened. Yondaime and Naruto looked up, identical blue eyes gazing at the person at the door.

"Ah! Come in Sasuke," Yondaime's voice rang through the office. Sasuke stopped short, looking back and forth between the father and son pair. His eyes rested on Naruto who sat in a chair by the door, closest to Sasuke.

"Hokage," Sasuke murmured in greeting, his eyes darting back and forth again. Naruto tried not to look flustered as he stared at the ANBU Captain. He couldn't help letting his gaze glide over the older man, knowing how strong, powerful, and just simply amazing the twenty year old shinobi was.

"And you are...Naruto?" Sasuke asked, looking at Naruto. Naruto grinned blindingly at him. Sasuke looked nonplussed, staring at Naruto and ignoring the Fourth Hokage.

"Sasuke, come in! It's not like you've never met my thirteen-year-old son before." Minato ignored the strange silence in the room as Sasuke looked at Naruto. Naruto, for his part, felt himself blush at the intense gaze summing him up, comparing his thirteen year old abilities to that of Sasuke's twenty years of experience. He could see the calculating glance before being dismissed from Sasuke's thoughts.

"Thirteen-years-old. He looks younger," Sasuke murmured as he walked by Naruto, letting only Naruto hear the words. His glided gracefully by, his movements smooth and suave. Wistfully Naruto imagined Sasuke as a thirteen year old, knowing he hadn't ever been as awkward at Naruto's current age. As his father and the ANBU captain spoke quietly, sending glances toward him every now and then, Naruto kept shooting glances back at Sasuke until his father caught him looking.

Even though he was supposed to be working on memorizing the hand signs and proper way to use his chakra for the technique written on the scroll, Naruto couldn't help but listen in on the conversation between the other two in the room.

He tried hard to focus back on the scroll that properly showed how to do the Gamayu Endan. It would allow him to light the toad oil when he summoned toads and was something he'd been trying to learn for what seemed like ages now.

"...these documents. I'll be gone for a while. I'd be much obliged if you would also help Naruto with his technique. He's having a great deal of difficulty learning this fire jutsu. I'm sure you will be able to help him master it. Most chuunins can do it, and if I do say so myself, I feel he is far above that point. Yet he seems to have a block with these fire jutsu." Naruto inhaled, swallowing the pride he felt at hearing the words out loud. It was true, but to hear the pride in his father's voice at what he should be capable of doing – well, it was something that Naruto would never get tired of hearing. It was worth the backhanded compliment to hear the pride in his father's voice.

"You want me to teach him?" Sasuke asked, looking anything but happy.

"I heard you learned the technique at a very young age. Surely you could give some pointers. I wish I had more time to spend with my son to teach him personally."

Naruto swallowed. He'd already known that Yondaime would be disappearing for a while. And Naruto had actually specifically requested Sasuke to "look after him." The logical reason was that he needed someone powerful in fire jutsu to train him. However, that was only a fraction of the reason Naruto wanted Sasuke to train him. His father hadn't put up any resistance at the request, just as Naruto had anticipated.

While his father went wherever it was he was going, Naruto would be in Sasuke's care. A little thrill went through him as he thought of living with Sasuke, the best ninja in Konoha – besides himself and his family of course.

"I trust you to take good care of him while I'm away," Minato finished. Sasuke looked a little flustered, ever so slightly, at having been unceremoniously been made baby-sitter. After all, he was the ANBU Captain. But as Naruto was who he was, it wasn't the first time (and wouldn't be the last time) someone had tried to hurt him because of his ties with the title of Hokage.

"Is that an order?" Sasuke asked.

"Yes. As soon as these documents are finished, I will be on my way."

"How long will you be?"

"Oh, you know missions. As long as it takes," Yondaime said vaguely.

"Since you're leaving right after this, I'll take Naruto now," Sasuke said. He looked at Yondaime, sizing him up as though unsure if he really wanted to take orders from Minato, before giving a short, almost disrespectful bow to the Hokage.

Moving swiftly, he grabbed Naruto by the arm, pulling him out of his chair and all but dragging him out of the Hokage's office. Naruto gave a muffled cry of protest, waving at Yondaime (who merely chuckled at the sight) before letting Sasuke manhandle him out of the office.

"So," Sasuke all but snarled as he dragged Naruto out of Hokage Tower, "you're twelve."

"Er, thirteen."

They stared at each other a few moments. Naruto took in how beautiful Sasuke looked. He tried not to blush at the thought, but it was true. He was smart, strong, and handsome, had a well-known name, and was pretty well-off. It was these things that so many people wanted. Even Naruto. But the thing that Naruto liked best about Sasuke was that he wasn't as perfect as all those things made him out to be.

There were things about him that Naruto felt he could connect to if they would just talk a bit more. Though when Sasuke was acting like a jerk, Naruto sometimes forgot those reasons. Like he was now.

"Let me explain a few things, _Naruto_. I knew another kid who reminds me of you. When he was your age, he pulled all sorts of pranks. And even though he was a complete usurotankachi, he was able to live on his own and take care of himself. I am not stupid. This whole situation is utterly ridiculous. However, as I was ordered to do so, I will do what I must. Just know this: you pull any pranks, any kind, act childish in any sort of way that is unbefitting of a ninja, and I will tie you up and throw you in a closet by yourself for a week, Hokage's order be damned. Do you understand?"

"Are you always this cranky?" Naruto mumbled. When the grip on his arm tightened, he added, "Er, being the son of the Hokage, I know-"

"_Do you understand?_" Sasuke snarled out again. Naruto swallowed. His feelings twisted. He had always, _always_ looked up to Sasuke, wanted to be like Sasuke. Now, when Naruto had been so excited for them to spend some time together, it was clear Sasuke merely saw "taking care" of him to be a burden. It wasn't like Naruto needed to be baby-sat. Really, he just wanted this chance to spend some time with Sasuke. Just the two of them. He wanted Sasuke to teach him things, things a busy Hokage never had time to do. Sasuke was great at so many different techniques, and he was sure he could give Sasuke a few pointers himself. He was Uzumaki Naruto after all. Surely he could show how awesome he was to Sasuke, and they could compare notes, maybe spar.

After all, Sasuke had been told to help him. He had to, even if Sasuke clearly didn't like being made to do things.

"I understand," Naruto nodded, standing as tall as he was able at his 147.5 cm frame, feeling strangely short next to Sasuke who he was sure couldn't be more than 20 cm taller than him.

"Good. Now let's start training."

* * *

"Snake, Tiger, Monkey, Boar, Horse, Tiger. Again," Sasuke demanded.

The seals were easy and a familiar welcome to his training. Naruto could feel the chakra building up in his hands, took a breath, but no spark flared from his exhaled air. The buildup of chakra fizzled and died.

Naruto looked out over the lake on the Uchiha grounds where they had gone to practice. Sasuke had explained that if they were practicing with fire, they needed a safe area to practice setting off a giant fireball. The dock was ideal for such a situation.

Despite that he'd seemed irritated at having to "baby-sit" Naruto, Sasuke seemed to enjoy bossing him around and telling him what he was doing wrong. Of all the teachers Naruto had had, Sasuke was by far the most attentive to what he was actually doing. Most times he would be left to work on techniques on his own; the figure-it-out-and-learn-by-yourself mentality was usually what his other teachers used when working with him. He'd once been told he was horrible at learning things via oral dictation. He was not an auditory learner but rather a tactile learner, aka he did not do well when someone gave him verbal directions but rather learned only by doing.

Most of his teachers would try and explain it to him – fail, and then show him. Then Naruto would take what he had seen, and then figure things out on his own, doing the technique his way – yet effectively.

In fact, that was what he had thought would happen. Yet Sasuke stood a ways away, smirking at Naruto's failure. Heat flared in Naruto's face that sadly had nothing to do with releasing the Goukakyuu no jutsu, but the warmth of deep, utter embarrassment. He both enjoyed and loathed Sasuke's eyes on him. He liked how much attention Sasuke was giving him – yet he wished it was because he was doing better.

Naruto thought he'd be able to do this technique no problem. Most chuunins could do it, and it was only a C-Rank skill. Yet he was still failing miserably. He cursed under his breath and tried (and failed) again.

When he had tried and failed for several hours to do the Gamayu Endan, the fire technique that would allow him to burn Toad oil for his summons', Sasuke had suggested starting with another fire element first as the Gamayu Endan was a B-Rank jutsu and the Fireball technique was only a C-Rank level jutsu. Much to Naruto's chagrin, even the easier one wasn't coming any, well, _easier_.

"Why are you holding back?" Sasuke asked, narrowing his eyes.

"What? I'm not holding back! I'm giving it my all!" Naruto screeched, outraged that Sasuke thought he wasn't giving one hundred percent.

"You're holding back your element."

"Huh?"

"You have an affinity to wind. You're trying to hold back your natural element. Use it to your advantage. Wind makes fire stronger. Wind is necessary for fire. You're suffocating the flame before you give it a chance."

Naruto gaped at Sasuke, feeling something in his chest tighten. He didn't know why Sasuke's words had suddenly made him feel deeply moved, but the fact that Sasuke could pinpoint what Naruto was doing wrong...well, Naruto liked the thought of Sasuke figuring him out when so many others hadn't be able to help.

"Close your eyes," Sasuke ordered. Naruto looked at Sasuke questioningly. Sasuke stared back and repeated the order. Naruto did so. "Relax." However, instead of relaxing, the way Sasuke had suddenly moved behind him, his warm body so close to Naruto did not make him feel at all relaxed. Sasuke's hands rested on Naruto's shoulders. Naruto's eyes fluttered open at the touch. "Keep your eyes closed." Reluctantly, Naruto closed his eyes. "Take a deep breath and release it slowly."

Doing as told, trying to ignore how suddenly warm he felt with Sasuke standing so close behind him, Naruto took a deep breath and exhaled.

"Your breathing is wrong," Sasuke said.

"What? How can breathing be wrong?" Naruto asked, turning his head to look at Sasuke. With a shove, Sasuke forced Naruto to twist his shoulders back to where they should be.

"Keep your eyes closed," Sasuke snarled. "When you breathe, you should breathe from your stomach. Your diaphragm should move in and out, not up and down. Your shoulders," Sasuke said, gripping Naruto's shoulders harder for emphasis, "should stay still. Your stomach should be the only thing moving in and out." One of his hands slid to Naruto's stomach. The movement made Naruto's whole body shiver, but Sasuke didn't say anything about it. Instead, he moved his hand up Naruto's front, unzipping the front of his jumpsuit, slowly dragging the zipper down the front.

Naruto didn't move a muscle as Sasuke eased his arms out of the top part of the jumpsuit. The arms hung loosely around him. The breeze that seemed to come so easily from the lake blew gently around his entire body. His body felt almost chilled after being in the warmth of the suit, his black t-shirt underneath feeling thin as the air hit him. Even so it felt welcomed as Sasuke being so close to him had started to make his whole body warmer in a different way.

Sasuke's one hand rested on his shoulder, while the other lifted his t-shirt and rested on Naruto's stomach. It made Naruto's breathing hitch, feeling Sasuke's cool skin touch his heated stomach.

Despite his embarrassment, Naruto could feel heat pool to his groin at how close Sasuke was to his hard on. The thrill of such intimacy made Naruto stop breathing, forgetting what he was supposed to be doing. It was easy to keep his eyes shut now. He was a horny teenager. How was he supposed to concentrate on breathing when Sasuke was taking his breath away? Shouldn't Sasuke take that into consideration?

"Take a deep breath from here." Sasuke's hand lightly caressed Naruto's stomach underneath his shirt. "Set your shoulders back." His other hand held Naruto firmly in place.

Naruto took a deep, shuddering breath. The hand on his shoulder gripped him tighter and his stomach received a sharp slap to it.

"Pay attention. Do not lift your shoulders as you breathe. Make only your stomach move in and out."

This time, Naruto did it right. He breathed in, making sure only his stomach moved in and out. His shoulders didn't move as he took several more deep breaths.

"Open your eyes. Breathe in and out the way I told you. Don't block the wind that comes from in here." His fingers caressed Naruto's stomach, dipping lower, trailing along the line of his pants. Naruto's head swam, wondering why Sasuke was expecting him to breathe properly when he kept doing things to make his breath hitch, kept taunting him, as though he knew exactly where Naruto wished Sasuke's hand would dip. "Snake, Tiger, Monkey, Boar, Horse, Tiger. Again."

Stepping further away from Sasuke so he could think better, Naruto did it again.

And this time, when he did the hand seals, when he let out his breath, let his element flow to his hands, he could feel it: could feel the way the wind sharpened the strength. A fireball erupted over the lake, the glow reflecting magnificently off the surface of the water.

Naruto stood back, surprised, and extremely pleased.

"See! Easy!" Naruto said, pumping his fist up and down in the air excitedly.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

"Again."

* * *

Naruto lied awake, wincing at the burns on his lips. His hands rested lightly on his stomach, remembering the way Sasuke had shown him how to "breathe." He watched his hands move up and down, seeing his stomach rise and fall. He took a deep breath, feeling the way his chest expanded and could feel his shoulders rise and fall. Since he couldn't sleep anyway, Naruto began practice breathing properly this way. It was a lot easier to do it lying down than standing up, but he hadn't ever realized how different it was. Sasuke seemed to think it would help with his lung capacity for when he breathed into his fireballs. Thankfully he had an extra advantage since he had a natural affinity for wind, but it still was a good idea to learn how to do things properly.

His tongue ran over the blisters on his lips, feeling the wrinkled skin where the flames had burned him. While it hurt to keep playing with it, he was having trouble not licking the burns.

Blue eyes turned toward the open window. Everything in the Uchiha district was deadly quiet. Naruto didn't really like how quiet it was. Yeah, okay, he knew it was good for meditating. But at night, by himself, it made Naruto feel ridiculously lonely. He hated being left behind and left alone. Naruto thought of his absent parents, and his heart ached, missing them. But he had Sasuke not too far away. Surely Sasuke was as lonely as he was out here, right?

The thought hit him suddenly. His eyes widened and a smirk cracked his already burned lips.

Was he a ninja or not? He could sneak into Sasuke's room. When he did that, Sasuke would have to admit that he was the better ninja! Even though he doubted that would make Sasuke any less cranky, maybe Sasuke would at least respect him a bit more.

In a flash he was at the door leading from his bedroom to the hallway. He concentrated chakra to his feet and began to climb the walls. When he reached Sasuke's bedroom he gently slid the door panel open. After waiting a moment, he peaked his head upside into the room. Sasuke seemed undisturbed, his chest rising and falling gently.

Narrowing his eyes, wondering if it could really be this easy, Naruto climbed into Sasuke's room, his feet sticking to the ceiling. He walked upside down till he stood over top of Sasuke's bed. The ceiling was low enough and the bed high enough so that he was almost face to face with Sasuke. If Sasuke were to sit up suddenly, his head would definitely bang into Naruto's.

He watched Sasuke's chest rise and fall. His muscles were extremely well defined, and much more masculine than Naruto's own thirteen year old frame. Naruto knew that his twenty year old body would look quite similar to Sasuke's, but right now, he took the time to admire how much time could change a man's body. Naruto's eyes raked up and down Sasuke's half naked body. Sasuke's shoulders were much broader than his own, and his chin looked more defined. His eyes held more depth and darkness than his own -

Shit. _Eyes_. Eyes that were _open_ looking straight at him with a very unamused expression.

Naruto grinned and rubbed his head awkwardly.

"Got any burn ointment?" Naruto laughed nervously.

"Get out of my room."

"But-"

"Remember? No childish pranks. Or you'll be spending the week in the closet." Sasuke didn't bother to give Naruto any more verbal warnings. Instead, he grabbed hold of Naruto's shirt, pulling him clear off the ceiling. He twisted his pull just enough so that Naruto landed roughly on the floor, not on the bed as Naruto had first thought he would.

And before Naruto could stand up, Sasuke had him on his feet and shoved out of his door. Grumbling and cursing at Sasuke's attitude, Naruto decided he'd be as loud as he felt like, rummaging around Sasuke's bathroom for some burn ointment. He didn't find any. Instead, he licked his lips some more, pretty sure that it was actually making it feel worse.

Feeling more awake now than when he'd gone to bed, Naruto headed back to his room, hoping sleep would finally come.

At some point and time he must have fallen asleep because he definitely hadn't heard Sasuke come into his room, though he could definitely sense his presence. Naruto did his best to keep breathing slowly, wishing his heart wasn't beating so hard. For several minutes Sasuke's presence loomed in Naruto's room. After a while, Naruto thought maybe he was imagining it. But then his bed dipped, and he felt something cool and slippery placed on his lips. The smell of burn ointment filled Naruto's senses.

Gently Sasuke's thumb massaged the ointment into Naruto's dry lips. His thumb moved over the top and bottom lips gently, coating them with the healing agent. Naruto's lips cooled while the rest of his body began to heat up at the touch. But within seconds of Sasuke's thumb leaving his mouth, Sasuke had vanished from the room, leaving Naruto flustered and once again alone.

* * *

"Stop licking your lips."

"But they hurt!"

"Deal with it," Sasuke deadpanned. "Would such a minor injury distract you in battle?"

"No," Naruto muttered. "But its practice, and they're itchy now, and they've been annoying me for the past three hours," Naruto grumbled as he licked them again.

"Stop whining. And stop licking your lips – or I'll cut out your tongue."

Naruto was half-tempted to stick his tongue out at Sasuke, but he was pretty sure Sasuke would actually cut out his tongue and decided not to. He'd woken up with his lips feeling completely healed. Without that irritation to worry about, he'd gotten up and wanted to start practicing the Gamayu Endan technique. But Sasuke had been a pain in the butt to get out of bed and had been in an even worse mood than the day before. Seriously, Sasuke must have been awake the whole time when Naruto thought he'd been asleep. Sasuke was difficult to get out of bed the next morning. Some ninja.

And Naruto had completely forgotten that doing more fire techniques today would result in his lips being burned for even longer than the day before.

"You're not concentrating. Pay attention. Snake, Ram, Monkey, Boar, Horse, Tiger. Again."

Naruto gathered the chakra, performed the seal, and created the flame. It hovered over the water before sizzling out. On its own without using it with his summons, it was basically just a C-rank endan technique, but the fact that he was almost ready to master a B-rank in just a few days made him feel elated. And it would be easier since the toad oil would not only mean he had to use less chakra, but the amount of damage it would inflict on opponents could actually kill them. Not that the thought of death excited him, but becoming more powerful in order to protect his precious people was something that Naruto would never tire of.

With a whoop at his success, Naruto pumped his fist in the air. His celebration was punctured when his stomach growled.

"That was even bigger than yours! Time for food, yeah?" Naruto said, grinning despite the pain it caused. Right away, Naruto could tell he'd said something to upset Sasuke.

"It was not bigger. Snake, Ram, Monkey, Boar, Horse, Tiger. Again," Sasuke demanded.

Apparently Sasuke took offense that Naruto thought his was bigger.

* * *

"Snake, Ram, Monkey, Boar, Horse, Tiger. _Again_," Naruto mimicked Sasuke's voice making a face. "Doesn't he know how to say anything else?" Naruto grumbled. He walked through town, pulling out the burn ointment he'd bought about an hour ago. Sasuke had refused to give him some, but he had given him some time to go and grab some food. Naruto had stopped to buy some ointment on his own so it wouldn't hurt to eat ramen: even though he would have still eaten it despite the pain. Ramen was so worth any amount of pain. Naruto was always a fast healer, but it was by far easier to enjoy ramen when he could slurp it without worrying about the burns.

Naruto didn't put any more on his lips (he really didn't need it), but he played with the little canister, flipping it in his fingers as he figured out what he wanted to do. It had been ages since he'd just walked through Konoha, not worrying about anything, and he liked watching the people around him. He decided he didn't want anyone to know who he was, so he had used a genjutsu to make himself look different. It made him smile every time someone mentioned their Hokage, making him feel good that they were still saying the same things he loved to hear, not just to his face because of who he was.

Feeling energized, Naruto decided to head back to Sasuke's place. Sasuke had said he had to be back within two hours, and Naruto figured Sasuke would be pleased that Naruto had come back early, and they could work some more.

Naruto ran around the Uchiha grounds, burning off some of his excessive energy while looking for Sasuke. But Sasuke was nowhere to be found. Wondering if maybe Sasuke had gone into town to get some lunch, Naruto turned his head when he heard a sound from inside the house. He rolled his eyes at himself, wondering why he hadn't thought to check the house when it was lunch time.

He entered the house quietly. Naruto would sneak up on Sasuke this time! His ears perked up, listening for sound. Narrowing his eyes, he tip-toed toward the bedroom. Frowning at the way that the door was open, Naruto forgot that he was supposed to be sneaking up on Sasuke when he saw that Sasuke was definitely not paying any attention to him.

Sasuke lay naked on his bed, his hand wrapped around his dick as he jerked himself off. Naruto's mouth hung open in shock, watching the way his hand moved up and down, slick and wet with Sasuke's precum. A loud moan and grunt interrupted Sasuke's steady panting. The hand not jerking himself off gripped the edge of his bed. His hips lifted up as his fisted movements tugged down harshly, his cum shooting out all over his hand.

Naruto blushed, feeling his cock twitch as a bead of precum spurt from his own cock at the sight. He swallowed, watching as Sasuke merely glared at him. His entire mouth felt dry at what he'd seen, and he licked his lips again. Sasuke's eyes narrowed. He stood up, walked over to Naruto. Naruto backed away dumbly, hitting the wall in the hallway.

"I told you to stop licking your lips," Sasuke said, frowning at him. Naruto couldn't speak. His hand still coated in his own cum, Sasuke reached out and smeared it across Naruto's lips. Even though Sasuke had just told him not to lick his lips, his tongue darted out of its own accord, licking at Sasuke's cum.

Sasuke gripped Naruto's chin harshly with his cumsoaked hand and forced his head up and stared straight into Naruto's eyes.

"You don't listen. I told you not to lick your lips. I told you not to come in my room again -"

"I didn't! The door was just open-"

"And I bet you wouldn't listen if I told you to stop looking at me the way you have been. I'm not dumb, Naruto. I've seen the way you watch me."

Naruto swallowed and went to lick his lips again, but a harsh tug to his chin had him stopping. He took a shaky breath just before Sasuke pushed him back toward the wall.

"Get yourself cleaned up. We still have training to do."

* * *

"But I wanna learn the Phoenix Sage Fire Technique," Naruto whined, crossing his arms.

"It's not really a sage technique; it's just the name," Sasuke explained.

"But I still wanna learn it!"

"And I told you I would cut out your tongue if you didn't stop whining."

"I thought you said you would cut my tongue out if I didn't stop licking my lips," Naruto said, confused.

"For that too. But you're going to work on the Dragon Fire Technique. You need to work on your projection of the fire to stop your lips from burning so much. Working on this will help minimize the burns."

"Fine, fine," Naruto said. But his excitement picked up almost immediately, already thinking about the fact that he was learning another new technique. "Let's start!"

Sasuke had Naruto set up several strings across the lake. Bounding across the lake as quickly as possible, Naruto jumped from the water back up onto the dock as Sasuke explained the theory of having the fire travel just in one specific line, demonstrating what he meant by setting one of the strings on fire. He even explained that if there was an exploding jutsu tag on a string, it was an easy way to set off the explosions without going too far into a trap, while also a good way to set up a trap in and of itself.

Pumped at this new information and having watched Sasuke do it, Naruto bounced around, waiting for his chance. But Sasuke stopped him before he could start doing it, even after he had figured out (without Sasuke telling him over and over again) what the hand seals were.

"Why can't I start now?" Naruto asked, trying to keep the disappointment out of his voice.

"We're going to wait until it's dark. It will be easier to see your flame to gauge the path of projection," Sasuke said.

"What was the point for all of that if we just had to wait till night?" Naruto asked, put out.

"Easier to see where you put the ninja wire in the daylight. You should set some more up now before it gets too dark."

"Oh, right."

"Be back after sundown. Till then, go into town again for a bit. I have some things I need to do."

"What, like masturbate again?"

Sasuke's response was to shove Naruto off the dock.

* * *

The moon overhead shone brightly in the sky and shimmered almost as luminous in the still waters of the lake below. Naruto grumbled as he laid on the dock, looking over the edge into the water. He'd been waiting for Sasuke for over twenty minutes, and he was getting annoyed. He reached down, letting his fingers trail in the water, happy that the little ripples of water interrupted the stillness, glad that he was able, in some way, to make the moon do something other than just hang there.

Naruto idly began to reach up and play with the strings tied to the dock. He watched as the moon shimmered off the ninja wire as it moved back and forth, listening to the sing of the string.

Still, by the time he heard the footsteps on the dock, the ripples had long since ceased. He jumped up to his feet, glaring at Sasuke. His glare died at the expression on Sasuke's face.

"Are your lips still burned?" Sasuke asked mildly.

"Uh, not so much. I heal fast. Plus I used some burn ointment. What took you so long?" Naruto grumped, crossing his arms for emphasis.

"I told you; I had some things to do."

"Such as?"

"How many ninja wires did you set up to try setting on fire?" Sasuke asked, ignoring Naruto's inquiry.

"I tied five to each pole of the dock," Naruto pointed. Tied to each pier's pole were five strings. They angled outward, each one extending to the other side of the lake.

"Good. It leaves some room in between the two sets of strings to practice your other techniques and see how far the fire goes from your mouth. Go stand at the edge of the dock," Sasuke instructed.

"Right!" Naruto stood poised at the last wooden plank.

"Get closer to the edge," Sasuke said, coming up behind Naruto. Naruto edged forward. "Now, I want you to do Goukakyuu no jutsu."

Naruto began to start the seals, but no sooner had he finished forming snake, Sasuke shoved him hard in the back, pushing him face first into the lake. He emerged spluttering and cursing at Sasuke.

"That's the second fucking time today you asshole!"

"I have other things I could be doing than babysitting a little kid. I taught you the technique to use for your toads plus another one. If you think I'm going to keep wasting my time, then you're going to have to work for it. Unless, of course, you're willing to tell me why you're acting like a spoiled Hokage brat who has to get his way?"

Naruto blushed angrily but refused to rise to Sasuke's bait. Instead he went to pull himself out of the water, but Sasuke jumped down effortlessly onto the water's surface and knocked Naruto back in again. But this time, Sasuke followed him into the water, pushing Naruto down deeper, making him inhale water into his lungs, and getting disoriented when Sasuke pushed him even further into the dark waters. But Sasuke's grip changed; instead of pushing him down deeper, he suddenly pulled Naruto up and out of the water. Naruto choked on the water still in his windpipe as he gasped for air.

"You have ten wires set up. If you want to learn the Phoenix Sage Fire Technique, first you have to learn the Dragon Fire Technique. You set yourself up, thinking you'd learn it in only ten tries. Tonight, you have to protect those wires; they're the only chances you have. You have ten minutes to prove yourself. You have to protect the wires – from me."

Sasuke pulled a pair of wire cutters from his ninja belt. With ease he threw Naruto across the lake and darted toward the first wire.

Naruto skidded to a halt, using a build-up of chakra in his feet to stop his momentum. But in the time it took him to stop moving, Sasuke had already cut one of the wires. The thin cording made almost no splash as it broke through the surface.

"Nine chances."

Naruto moved, his mind whirling. At least Sasuke wasn't cutting them all at once where he'd tied them at the poles. Sasuke was seriously giving him a chance to fight. What Naruto didn't understand was why. Sasuke had seemed to be enjoying it earlier. His sudden attitude change had taken Naruto completely off guard.

In the next moment, Sasuke had darted to the other side of the lake, the wire cutters in hand. But Naruto wasn't the son of the Fourth Hokage for nothing. He flickered over toward Sasuke, and jumped on the wire, feeling it sag as it bore his weight. Naruto kicked the wire cutters out of Sasuke's hands. The tool plunked into the water. Sasuke dived for it, but Naruto jumped first, using the height to dive in deeper. If he could get the tool first, Sasuke wouldn't be able to use it!

He dived toward the cutters, easily reaching them before Sasuke. Naruto grabbed them before making an abrupt turn and then emerging for air again. He looked nearby him, not noticing Sasuke. His eyes darted back and forth, certain that Sasuke would come his way looking for the clippers.

But his heart sank as he spotted a glint of metal on the other side of the lake. With a different pair of wire cutters in hand, Sasuke cut another wire.

"Seven chances. You missed two while under water," Sasuke said smugly. Naruto cursed himself. Of course Sasuke would have had a back up! He probably only dived for the first pair to distract Naruto.

"Damnit!" Naruto cursed, and quickly made his signature hand seal. "Tajuu! Kage bunshin no jutsu!"

Hundreds of Narutos appeared. Ten of them quickly jumped onto Sasuke, kicking and punching, doing what they could to dislodge that pair of cutters from his hand. Sasuke merely used the tool to stab several in the heart to make them vanish, giving a good, square hit to make the others disappear.

Of course, Naruto realized after his first mistake that the wire cutters were not the only way Sasuke could destroy the strings. After all, wasn't the point of what Naruto was about to learn was how to set the strings on fire? Surely Sasuke could do the same.

Within moments, however, Sasuke stood in front of him. His eyes had bled to red and sought out the real Naruto within seconds. Naruto jumped back, using the fact that Sasuke would try to attack him to his advantage. Two of his clones, grabbed the real Naruto by the arms and helped throw him into the air. Naruto watched as Sasuke jumped onto the wire nearest him to get higher toward the Naruto still in the air. However, Naruto's heart sunk as Sasuke pulled out his sword – which Naruto hadn't even seen Sasuke had hidden beneath his clothes. As soon as Sasuke jumped off the strings, his sword arced, slicing the wire with a zing.

Apparently Sasuke wasn't wasting too much more time. Naruto watched as the clones that tried to rush Sasuke were dispatched with almost comical ease. But as Naruto glanced down, he realized it was the perfect distraction.

As Naruto's jump began to descend, he released a giant fireball, aiming it at Sasuke. He splashed into the water below, watching as the light from the fireball lit up the night sky through the water's surface. Kicking out, Naruto used the light to see where the feet of his clones were located. He watched as several more of his clones were quickly working in the water. Not wanting Sasuke to see what they were up to, Naruto emerged.

But no sooner had he done so that Sasuke used a fire technique of his own. Naruto cursed, barely having time to catch his breath before he ducked back down into the water. He watched as several of the wires caught on fire, their burning strings quickly easily sliced by Sasuke. Naruto watched as they fell into the water, the flames quickly extinguished.

Needing air, Naruto kicked to the surface. He caught a flash of Sasuke slicing through two of his clones. But Naruto kicked out at Sasuke's legs as he emerged. Sasuke merely jumped up and over the attack. Mid-jump, Sasuke pulled a kunai from his belt and threw it toward the dock. It cut easily through the knot holding together the remaining cords. The fell severed into the water. Naruto groaned when he saw none were left tied to the dock.

His moment of distraction was all that Sasuke needed. Apparently even though all the wires were gone, Sasuke wasn't done fighting with him yet. Fingers wrapped around his neck, and pushed him back and into the water. Naruto gripped at Sasuke's fingers, trying to loosen them without fail. He kicked Sasuke's stomach, but Sasuke didn't bother to release him. Naruto was at a severe disadvantage with Sasuke on top of the water. He couldn't throw any of his shuriken or kunai as their momentum would drag in the water. Finally Sasuke pulled him back through the surface to yell at him. Naruto spluttered and gasped for air.

"Come on Naruto! Fight me seriously! This isn't all you've got," Sasuke snarled as he pushed him back under the water. The taunt rang in Naruto's ears, but all Naruto did was try to twist out of Sasuke's grip at his throat. Blackness began to tinge the edge of his vision as Sasuke still kept him under the water.

Finally, Sasuke pulled him back through the surface of the water. He made a disgusted sound.

"What a waste. You weren't even trying," Sasuke said. With a strange sort of stillness he let Naruto go and began walking toward the dock. Naruto coughed up and spit out water, taking deep gasps of breath as Sasuke spoke again. "You're holding back. Why aren't you fighting with everything you have?"

"Asshole," Naruto rasped out.

"Come on. We're not done yet. Your clones managed to untie and save some of the wires, didn't they?" Sasuke asked, shaking his head. Naruto took a shuddering breath and grinned. "It's been ten minutes. We'll work with the ones you saved. Have your clones set them up again."

Apparently Sasuke had seen he'd dispatched several clones to untie the wires. After all, Sasuke had said to save them; he'd never said Naruto had to leave them where they were.

Naruto hurried back to the dock as his clones re-tied the three wires, massaging his neck.

"Really? You could only save three? That was hardly a fight," Sasuke said, shaking his head. Naruto glared at him.

"Fight? Fight! You freaking tried to choke me to death!" Naruto said, still trying to catch his breath.

"I had to. This technique is easier to learn if you struggle for breath. It helps with feeling the right way to breathe," Sasuke added. "I figured an intense fighting session would do it, but you refused to go all out, so half-choking you is another alternative."

Naruto gaped at Sasuke. He hadn't expected that the random attack had to do with him needing to be out of breath to better do the technique. Sasuke merely smirked at the look on Naruto's face. Naruto glared. Well, if he had known that, he would have gone all out and kicked Sasuke's ass. He just hadn't wanted to humiliate Sasuke with his awesomeness.

For the next three hours, Sasuke had Naruto work on the technique. He understood now why it was better to do it in the dark as he could actually see the way the flame came from his mouth, and he could definitely feel a difference in his breathing and throat from being choked. After a while, he was able to concentrate the flame, using a heavier puff of air like being out of breath to spark it far enough away.

He watched with mixed emotions as he set the three wires on fire using the Dragon Fire Technique, but the flames died out quickly due to the fact that the wires were still wet in some places. Even though he'd made sure his clones hadn't gotten the wires wet, the splashes of water from their battle had clearly soaked some areas, stopping the flames short.

"You should have tried harder to save more of them," Sasuke noted. "Or at least had your clones replace the wet wires with dryer ones."

Naruto hadn't wanted to use new wires. That would be cheating!

"I did awesome! My thirteen year old abilities rival that of yours." The brightness of Naruto's grin was matched by the darkness of Sasuke's scowl.

"And no matter how old you get, you will still have the intelligence and attitude of a ten year old. I'm done for the night. Get ready for tomorrow. You'll be summoning your toads and combining the fire to their oil."

"Alright!"

* * *

It had taken longer than Naruto had expected, but he had finally managed to not only learn Gamayu Endan, but other fire techniques as well! He'd also managed to get the right amount of attention he wanted from Sasuke.

"What are you waiting for?" Sasuke asked, his arms crossed and his eyebrows raised in question.

"Huh?"

"Why aren't you summoning one of your toads?" Sasuke asked.

"Oh! Right. I was thinking," Naruto said.

"Which apparently takes a lot of effort for you." Naruto merely stuck his tongue out at Sasuke. Running out on the water, Naruto smirked before biting his thumb. He made the seals Boar, Dog, Bird, Monkey, Ram and yelled out Kuchiyose no Jutsu!

The water of the lake swirled and splashed violently high as Gamabunta's massive form appeared. Naruto rose high into the air, standing tall on top of the Toad Chieftain's head. His toady yellow eyes narrowed, looking down at Sasuke.

"Eh? We fighting the Uchiha again? Thought he already lost," Gamabunta grunted out, puffing smoke on his pipe. He didn't sound too thrilled about fighting, though that was nothing new.

"Oi, oi! We're not fighting. He's helping me with my fire techniques! I learned how to do Gamayu Endan!"

"Bah! You could have learned how to do that up at Mount Myouboku," Gamabunta sighed throatily. He gave a glare toward Sasuke who merely stood with his arms crossed looking nonplussed back at the giant toad. "He's nothing special."

"Gamabunta, don't be that way. Sasuke's changed," Naruto said, looking down at Sasuke's impassive face. "Er, kind of."

Gamabunta tilted his head, his eyes scrunching up to try and locate Naruto on his head.

"Gaki! Whats going on? Lemme look at you! Why do you sound like a tadpole in training?"

"Oh, hehe," Naruto giggled nervously, jumping down so he stood next to Sasuke looking rather sheepish at his own appearance. He really hadn't thought about what Gamabunta would think of him looking like a thirteen year old; but apparently Sasuke had.

"He's been shirking his Hokage duties, pretending to be a kid again," Sasuke said monotonously.

"I have not!" Naruto said, indignant.

"Naruto, why do you look like you're twelve again?" Gamabunta said, looking as flabbergasted as a toad could.

"Thirteen," Naruto muttered.

"It's just a genjutsu," Sasuke assured him.

"I've been practicing. Trying to see how it affects my chakra when I split into several clones. I've been playing around with the transformation technique as well."

"And causing havoc. Just yesterday I received an urgent inquiry as to why someone looking like the Fourth Hokage was wandering around Konoha. I had to assure them it was really just one of Naruto's clones who he was forcing to do all the paperwork while he played around," Sasuke explained.

"Ah! So that's what you were doing yesterday! Hey, wait. I'm not playing around! I'm using the time to do more techniques. Someone has to act as Hokage, and this way I know what's going on since I'll get my clone's memories, and it's kind of nostalgic since I haven't done training like this since I was a kid."

Naruto rubbed the back of his head. It had seemed like a good idea at the time. He could pretend to have his father back while Naruto was busy working on his techniques. It wasn't like he didn't need to practice to get stronger. Plus, having a clone activated for so long would help build up his own chakra which would in turn make him that much stronger.

"If you had bothered to tell your staff, it might have been better."

"Why is it that the only time you speak more than a few words at a time is to make fun of me?" Naruto grunted out. Naruto huffed before releasing his transformation technique, looking like his regular twenty year old self.

His Hokage robes billowed out in the wind. Naruto had to admit it felt good being back in them, and it felt even better that he didn't have to look up at Sasuke anymore. He'd never liked being short.

"I don't have time for this," Gamabunta said.

"No! No, wait! I really did learn Gamayu Endan! I wanted to practice using my technique with toad oil," Naruto said. "And just yesterday Sasuke said I wasn't going all out. I thought we could use him as target practice!" Naruto and Gamabunta both grinned. For some reason Naruto couldn't quite fathom, Sasuke didn't.

* * *

Naruto pulled the burn ointment from his pocket, smearing it generously onto his lips. He flopped down onto the grass by the lake, feeling thoroughly exhausted. A moment later Sasuke joined him, his head lying near Naruto's with his legs facing the opposite direction. The area smelled of oil, water, and smoke, and perhaps a bit like slimy toad even though Gamabunta had left at least a half hour before. Still, there was something comforting about smelling the remnants of a hard training session.

"Why were you really pretending to be thirteen again?" Sasuke asked. It was an unusual question. He and Sasuke didn't usually talk about deep things. Usually they were able to understand each other without words. But perhaps Sasuke couldn't understand Naruto's reasoning because Naruto wasn't quite sure himself.

"I dunno. Just wondering what it would have been like if I had been raised with my dad still alive. Always kind of felt like I would have been treated different if everyone knew I was the Hokage's son. Elite ANBU members would have been in charge of my training. Though, I guess, come to think of it, I guess I was, being trained by Kakashi and all. But anyway, when I was young you were just so untouchable. I was always chasing after you. First to be like you, and then to make you come back to Konoha. I just kind of wondered what it would be like if I had been able to impress you enough that you wouldn't have wanted to leave. Like maybe if you knew I was the son of the Hokage, you would have had something to know I was your equal. I mean, I was obviously completely awesome, but that way you would have had more evidence. And I guess, you know, when you're that age, I'm sure I would have been in even more awe of you then if you were older. You know..."

There was silence.

"You were in awe of me?" Sasuke murmured. Naruto snorted.

"You could do fire techniques before anyone else. You were the genius."

"It doesn't matter who your parents were. You don't need that to define you," Sasuke said. "You do a fine job of showing everyone how capable you are."

They didn't need more words. Naruto knew Sasuke understood what he was trying to say. In fact, Naruto was pretty sure Sasuke just asked about Naruto being in awe of him because he liked hearing it out loud.

"For a moment I thought you might just have developed a teacher-student kink. After all, how many desks have we broken in the Hokage office?"

"Three, I think." Naruto grinned in remembrance. Their relationship was kept secret for the most part, but the games they played were usually pretty rough and rowdy. Naruto was pretty sure that those closest to them had figured out their "not-quite-secret" relationship due to the sheer physical intensity between them.

"Thanks, for asking me to train you," Sasuke murmured.

"You're welcome," Naruto said, grinning back. He knew, even if Sasuke never said it, that Sasuke liked the thought of him taking him seriously enough to want to be like him, even if Naruto only wanted to know what Sasuke knew in order to better best him.

The pick-up of the breeze from off the water blew away what little scent of smoke lingered, dispersing it into the air. It caressed Naruto's hair like a gentle hand. Smiling to himself, he leaned up on his elbows and looked at Sasuke. His face was relaxed, at peace, as he lay in the grass.

"Sasuke?"

"Hm?" Sasuke's eyes fluttered open, looking at Naruto. His dark eyes looked at him expectantly, with nothing in them other than lazy contentment.

"Just seeing if you were awake," Naruto said before lying back down again.

"Idiot."

"Love you too, bastard," Naruto said, smirking. Sasuke's eyes were still closed, the barest hint of a smile on his lips.

"I know."

**End.**

Due to the fact that it appeared as though Naruto was so young all the hardcore smexy stuff has been cut from Fanfiction dot Net. Unedited versions can be found on Adult Fan Fiction dot Net and Y! Gallery.

What? It's me. Of course there's gonna be some twists. Anyway – in my own mindset this fits into the universe with my other oneshots like "Sight For Sore Eyes" and "Eye See" in case you want more background in their relationship. SFSE explains how they got together, and ES deals more with kind of the kinks in their twisted relationship. This is actually a bit milder than either of those, but I really enjoyed writing this. Hope you liked it! Cookies via the darkside to whoever guesses what the Star Wars influenced line is. ~ Jelp


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